Cohort Graduation and Annual Dropout Rates: 2014 Statewide Results and Highlights of Worcester Public Schools College and Career Readiness Webinar Series March 3, 2015

Welcome!  Please type your question or comment in the chat window at any point during the presentation  All phones will be muted  PowerPoint slides will be sent to all registered participants, and will be posted to the CCR website 2

Agenda Part I: Statewide Cohort Graduation and Annual Dropout Rates: Highlights of results for 2014 Presented by Rob Curtin, Director of Education Data Services, ESE Part II: Highlights of a District Making Progress: -Presented by Worcester Public Schools staff 3

Dropout and Graduation Rate Data Robert Curtin Director, Education Data Services

Goals for Today  Gain a common understanding of graduation and dropout rate methodologies  Present most recent and longitudinal graduation and dropout rate data to illustrate successes and areas for improvement  Answer any questions and take suggestions for additional analyses Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 5

MassGrad Schools  Selected as a result of having a dropout rate higher than the state average in  76 Districts and 133 Schools; including 8 charter schools  30.7% of all enrolled students in grade 9-12 Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 6

Calculating Graduation Rates in MA Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 7 # of students in cohort who graduate within 4 years [# of 1 st time 9 th graders 4 yrs earlier] – transfers out + transfers in What percent graduate by summer ‘14? Transfer out/deceased Transfer In Oct 1, th grade first time 4 Year Rate – 2014 Cohort

Calculating Graduation Rates in MA Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 8 # of students in cohort who graduate within 5 years [# of 1 st time 9 th graders 5 yrs earlier] – transfers out + transfers in What percent graduate by summer ‘14? Transfer out/deceased Transfer In Oct 1, th grade first time 5 Year Rate – 2013 Cohort

Cohort Identification Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 9 9 th 10 th 11 th 12 th

Graduation Rates Massachusetts and MassGrad Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 10 CohortState 4yrMassGrad 4yrState 5yrMassGrad5yr *71.1* *67.2* NA MA Public Schools = 4.6 percentage point increase since 2009 Non–MassGrad Grantees = 1.9 percentage point increase since 2009 MassGrad Grantees = 7.2 percentage point increase since 2009 *New CD requirements

MassGrad 2014 Cohort 4-Year Profile N = 23, % graduated (+1.5 from 2013) 11.4% dropped out (-1.7) 9.2% are still enrolled (-0.2) 2.1% received a GED (-0.4) 2.5% completed but did not graduate (+0.7) 0.2% were permanently excluded (+0.1) Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 11

MassGrad 2013 Cohort 5-Year Profile N =24,323 Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education % graduated (+0.9 from 2012 cohort 5-year) 13.8% dropped out (-1.7) 3.3% received a GED (-0.8) 3.1% are still enrolled (+0.1) 0.2% transferred in their 5 th year 2.9% completed but did not graduate (+0.3) 0.1% were permanently excluded (-0.1)

Calculating Annual Dropout Rates Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 13 Summer Dropouts: Students determined to be a dropout over the summer before the start of the current school year. School Year Dropouts: Students determined to be a dropout during the current school year.  Check against all other districts’ data to see if dropout is enrolled or graduated from another district (i.e. “found” students) Returned Dropouts:  Check if any Summer Dropouts or School Year Dropouts are reported in the following school year’s October 1 SIMS.  Students reported as enrolled, graduated or received an high school equivalency in any district are removed from the total dropout count. High School Enrollment: The High School Enrollment is based on this October 1 SIMS collection. This is the denominator when calculating dropout rates. ( 1) EOY SIMS(2) October 1, 2013 SIMS (3) EOY SIMS (4) October 1, 2014 SIMS The final dropout rate = [(Summer Dropouts + School Year Dropouts) – Returned Dropouts] / High School Enrollment

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 14 Annual Dropouts All Students

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 15 Annual Dropout Rate All Students Gap decrease from 3.4 points to 1.9 since implementation

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 16 Annual Dropout Rate Selected Populations - MassGrad

Major Findings  Dropout rates in the aggregate and in all subgroups are the lowest in 12 years since using SIMS and lowest in decades by any measure  A 48.1% reduction in the number of dropouts in MassGrad schools since 2007 and 9.9% since last year  “Dropout Gap” between state and MassGrad districts has decreased since implementation  MassGrad schools account for 60.7% of all dropouts while having 30.7% of the high school enrollment Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 17

Dropout and Graduation Rate Information MA Student Information Management System: MA Graduation Rates: MA Dropout Rates Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 18

Contact Information Robert Curtin Director, Education Data Services Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 19

A Look at Worcester Public Schools Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 20

4-year Graduation Rates by School Change from 2013 &

Worcester Public School Presenters Kristen Leo, Senior Systems Analyst Bruce O’Connell, Assistant Principal, North High School Carmen Melendez, Head Guidance Counselor, South High School Jane Dowd, Head Guidance Counselor, Burncoat High School Dolores Gribouski, Ed.D, Manager of Curriculum, Instruction and School Leadership: 22

District-wide Initiatives 23

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 Graduation Improvement Teams Membership Guidance Counselor School Adjustment Counselor Administrator Focused Instructional Coach Faculty Members Activities Data Analysis and strategic planning for off-track students. Transition Planning/ Programming for 8 th grades moving into high school. 25

 Alternative Pathways Collaborate with comprehensive high schools for referral and learning plans Flexible schedules Smaller class size Additional social-emotional support Collaborate with agencies  Returnee Conduct outreach and re-engagement efforts focused on recent dropouts Computer-based credit recovery personalized learning support  College & Career Readiness Network  Computer-based Credit Recovery  Attendance Buy-Back 26

Systematic use of Data Focus on student success Segmentation Study Monthly Baseline Data EWIS Course Completion report MassCore Progression Data Monitoring Chart 27

North High School  Mass Grad Coalition  Restorative Justice  9 th Grade Teams  Buy-back 28

South High School  College-going Culture  Service Learning 29

Burncoat High School  Summer Transition Program  Paving the Path for Our At-risk Students: Middle School to High School Transition Collaboration 30

On the horizon… Currently working with middle school to establish graduation improvement teams Establish coalitions at each high school Increase elementary, middle school, high school vertical communication opportunities 31

For more information…  Graduation rate data:    Dropout rate data:   Annual dropout vs. cohort graduation rates: 

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 33 MonthWebinar Title 3/10/15Career Development Education: Career Awareness, Exploration and Immersion 4/14/15Summer Transition Programs 5/12/15Individual Learning Plans 6/09/15MA Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs Thank you!